Gifford Nielsen

American football player and general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
American football player
Gifford Nielsen
refer to caption
Nielsen in 2018
No. 14
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1954-10-25) October 25, 1954 (age 69)
Provo, Utah, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Provo
College:BYU (1977–1979)
NFL draft:1978 / Round: 3 / Pick: 73
Career history
  • Houston Oilers (1978–1983)
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts:498
Passing completions:273
Completion percentage:54.8%
TD–INT:20–22
Passing yards:3,255
Passer rating:70
Rushing yards:89
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR
College Football Hall of Fame
S. Gifford Nielsen
First Quorum of the Seventy
April 6, 2013 (2013-04-06)
Called byThomas S. Monson
Personal details
BornStanley Gifford Nielsen
(1954-10-25) October 25, 1954 (age 69)
Provo, Utah, U.S.
Spouse(s)Wendy Olson (m. 1975)
Children6
 Biography portal   LDS movement portal

Stanley Gifford Nielsen (born October 25, 1954) is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL). He was the sports director of KHOU in Houston from 1984 until March 31, 2009.[1] He has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since April 2013.

Football career

High school career

Nielsen grew up in Provo, Utah, and attended Provo High School, playing as the school's quarterback.

College career

Nielsen remained in Provo and attended Brigham Young University, where he was an All-American quarterback for the Cougars under head coach LaVell Edwards. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

NFL career

Nielsen was selected in the third round of the 1978 NFL Draft (73rd overall) by the Houston Oilers, the team with which he spent his entire NFL career, six seasons as a part-time quarterback.

Nielsen served as backup to Dan Pastorini in 1978 and 1979 and to Ken Stabler in 1980 and 1981. He played the most games in his last two seasons, 19821983, when he shared quarterbacking duties with Archie Manning and Oliver Luck.

From 1984 to 1987, he served as a color commentator on Oilers radio broadcasts.

TV Sports Anchor

Nielsen was the sports director at CBS affiliate KHOU in Houston from 1984 to 2009. He also made an appearance in P.D.Q. Bach in Houston: We Have a Problem! as a color commentator alongside Peter Schickele during a sketch of Beethoven's Fifth, in which the performance was done as if it were a mock football/hockey game.

LDS Church service

Nielsen has served in the LDS Church in many capacities, including elders quorum president, bishop, president of the Houston Texas South Stake, mission president's counselor, and area seventy. He was released as an area seventy on April 6, 2013, and called as a general authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Among his assignments, Nielsen served for a time in the presidency of the church's Pacific Area. In August 2019, Nielsen was called as the president of the church's North America Central Area.[2] Since August 2023, he has been serving as the president of the church's Africa West Area.[3]

Scouting 100 year Anniversary

Nielsen was the master of ceremonies at the "100 Years of Scouting" celebration at Minute Maid Park in Texas.

See also

References

  1. ^ KHOU Staff. "Giff Nielsen signs off after 25 years at Channel 11" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, ‘’KHOU’’, Houston, TX, 23 October 2009. Retrieved on 12 April 2015.
  2. ^ LDS Church announces 2019 Area Leadership Assignments ChurchNews.com
  3. ^ LDS Church announces 2023 Area Leadership Assignments ChurchNews.com

External links

  • "General Authorities: S. Gifford Nielsen", churchofjesuschrist.org.
  • "Elder S. Gifford Nielsen", Liahona, May 2013.
  • Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
  • v
  • t
  • e
NCAA major college football annual passing yards leaders
  • v
  • t
  • e
BYU Cougars starting quarterbacks
  • Don Dixon (1956)
  • Carroll Johnston (1956–1957)
  • Wayne Startin (1956–1958)
  • Ron Startin (1959)
  • Bud Belnap (1960)
  • Eldon Fortie (1961–1962)
  • Doug Wardell (1963)
  • Jim Ballard (1963)
  • Ron Stewart (1963)
  • Virgil Carter (1964–1966)
  • Terry Sanford (1967)
  • John Erdhaus (1967)
  • Marc Lyons (1967–1969)
  • Rick Jones (1968, 1970)
  • Brian Gunderson (1970)
  • Bill August (1971–1972)
  • Dave Perry (1971–1972)
  • Gary Sheide (1973–1974)
  • Randy Litchfield (1973)
  • Mark Giles (1975)
  • Gifford Nielsen (1975–1977)
  • Marc Wilson (1977–1979)
  • Jim McMahon (1978, 1980–1981)
  • Royce Bybee (1979–1980)
  • Steve Young (1981–1983)
  • Robbie Bosco (1984–1985)
  • Steve Lindley (1986)
  • Bob Jensen (1987)
  • Sean Covey (1987–1988)
  • Ty Detmer (1988–1991)
  • Ryan Hancock (1992)
  • John Walsh (1992–1994)
  • Steve Sarkisian (1995–1996)
  • Drew Miller (1997–1998)
  • Kevin Feterik (1997–1999)
  • Brandon Doman (2000–2001)
  • Charlie Peterson (2000–2001)
  • Bret Engemann (2000, 2002)
  • Matt Berry (2002–2003)
  • Lance Pendleton (2002)
  • John Beck (2003–2006)
  • Max Hall (2007–2009)
  • Jake Heaps (2010–2011)
  • Riley Nelson (2010–2012)
  • Taysom Hill (2012–2014, 2016)
  • James Lark (2012)
  • Christian Stewart (2014)
  • Tanner Mangum (2015–2018)
  • Beau Hoge (2017)
  • Joe Critchlow (2017)
  • Zach Wilson (2018–2020)
  • Baylor Romney (2019, 2021)
  • Jaren Hall (2019, 2021–2022)
  • Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters (2022)
  • Kedon Slovis (2023)
  • Jake Retzlaff (2023)
  • v
  • t
  • e
Houston Oilers 1978 NFL draft selections
  • v
  • t
  • e
Tennessee Titans starting quarterbacks
Formerly the Houston Oilers (1960–1996) and the Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998)
  • v
  • t
  • e
The individuals listed below are current General Authority Seventies. Each is a member of either the First or Second Quorums of the Seventy. Those in italics are the current members of the Presidency of the Seventy.
  • Aidukaitis
  • Alliaud
  • Alonso
  • Alvarado
  • Ardern
  • Bangerter
  • Bassett
  • Baxter
  • Becerra
  • Bennett
  • Boom
  • Bowen
  • Bragg
  • Carpenter
  • Choi
  • Christensen
  • Cook
  • Corbitt
  • Cordón
  • Cornish
  • J. Costa
  • Daines
  • De Feo
  • Douglas
  • Dube
  • Duncan
  • Dunn
  • Dushku
  • Esplin
  • Gavarret
  • Gerard
  • Gilbert
  • Giménez
  • Giraud-Carrier
  • Giuffra
  • C. Godoy
  • T. Godoy
  • Hales
  • Hamilton
  • Haynie
  • Held
  • Holland
  • Homer
  • Jackson
  • Jaggi
  • K.R. Johnson
  • P.V. Johnson
  • P.M. Johnson
  • Kearon
  • Klebingat
  • Koch
  • Kopischke
  • Kyungu
  • Martinez
  • Martino
  • McCune
  • McKay
  • Meredith III
  • Meurs
  • Montoya
  • Mutombo
  • Nash
  • Nattress
  • Nielsen
  • Nielson
  • Ochoa
  • Ojediran
  • Palmer
  • Parrella
  • Pearson
  • Perkins
  • Phillips
  • Pieper
  • Pingree
  • Pino
  • Rasband
  • Revillo Jr.
  • Ringwood
  • Sabin
  • Schmeil
  • Schmutz
  • Sikahema
  • Stanfill
  • Tai
  • Taylor
  • Teh
  • Teixeira
  • Valenzuela
  • Villanueva
  • Villar
  • Wada
  • Wakolo
  • Walker
  • Whiting
  • Wong
  • Zeballos